NH Law About ...: Quiet Enjoyment: Read The Law About ...

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New Hampshire Statutes

Revised Statutes Online. RSA 358-A. Regulation of Business Practices for Consumer Protection
RSA 540-A. Prohibited Practices and Security Deposits
See 540-A:2. General Prohibition.

New Hampshire Cases

Echo Consulting Services, Inc. v. North Conway Bank, 140 N.H. 566 (1995)
"A breach of the covenant of quiet enjoyment occurs when the landlord substantially interferes with the tenant's beneficial use or enjoyment of the premises."
Google Scholar. Adams v. Woodlands of Nashua, 151 N.H. 640 (2005)
"RSA 540–A:2 provides, "No landlord shall willfully violate a tenant's right to quiet enjoyment of his tenancy...." Pursuant to RSA 540–A:4, IX, "Any landlord ... who violates RSA 540–A:2 or any provision of RSA 540–A:3 shall be subject to the civil remedies set forth in RSA 358–A:10...." RSA 540–A:2 does not further define a tenant's right to quiet enjoyment; however, we rely upon the common law doctrine that the covenant obligates the landlord to refrain from interference with the tenant's possession during the tenancy."
Rood v. Moore, 148 NH 378 (2002)
"The plaintiffs contend that the court erred in failing to distinguish between the term "willfully" as used in RSA 540–A:2, which proscribes "willfully" committing the prohibited practice at issue, and the term "willful" as used in RSA 358–A:10 (1995), which provides for enhanced damages for a "willful or knowing violation" of RSA chapter 358–A. … We have, however, usually interpreted the term to exclude an act committed under a mistaken belief of the operative facts. … We similarly hold here that RSA 540–A:2 was not intended to impose liability upon a landlord who enters a tenant's premises under an honestly mistaken understanding of the tenant's consent to such entry."
DiMinico v. Centennial Estates Cooperative, 173 N.H. 150 (2020)
"The covenant of quiet enjoyment is a common law doctrine that obligates the landlord to refrain from interferences with the tenant's possession during the tenancy. It is implied by law in every lease. see … RSA 540-A:2 (2007). … There is ample evidentiary support for the court's conclusion that the deforesting and regrading of the plaintiff's lot constituted a "substantial interference with [his] use and enjoyment of [the] lot.""

New Hampshire Court Orders

The court has authorized the publication of these orders for informational purposes only. Readers should be aware that Supreme Court Rule 20(2) states that an order disposing of any case that has been briefed but in which no opinion is issued, shall have no precedential value.

2018-0445, Li Wei Lin v. Stacey Sverker
"Taken together, these provisions establish that a landlord who willfully violates a tenant's right to quiet enjoyment is liable to the tenant for at least $1,000 in statutory damages, as well as costs and reasonable attorney's fees, for that initial violation. See RSA 540-A:2; RSA 540-A:4, IX(a); RSA 358-A:10, I."

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